What happens when your perfect life isn’t what you thought it was? What if, instead of being the lead character like you thought, you are just a supporting character?
Welcome to our newest recapping project. Kmuse and I will be taking turns recapping Extra-Ordinary You every week. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the blog, we don’t do a full recap, it’s more of what stuck out to us in each episode. So don’t expect a play by play, but we will hit all the high points. I’m Clkytta, one of the Fangirls here at Dramas with a Side of Kimchi. I’m a student, a teacher, and a mom. I’m also finishing up my last semester of college, so I’m pretty picky with what I’m watching right now! Come and join me as I watch the first episodes of Extra-Ordinary You.
Pause for Fangirling
I’m not as familiar with the female leads but I squealed like a teenager when I saw Lee Jae Wook. He was FANTASTIC in Search: WWW. Also, guard your heart because this drama is full of
The Perfect Life
Eun Dan Oh lives the perfect life, minus a pesky heart condition. She’s rich, universally adored, admired by several cute guys, and she’s super sweet. If it wasn’t for the pesky blackout moments she’s been having, her life would be perfectly normal. Dan Oh is friends with the underdog of the story, Yeo Joo Da. For some reason, she is always there when Joo Da is in trouble.
A Glitch in the System.
After everything freezes and Dan Oh is the only one who seems to notice, it becomes apparent that something isn’t right with her world. She keeps flashing around and her whole life feels like deja vu. She even visits a doctor (Yoon Jong Hoon, who I’ve loved since Monstar.) He tells her she’s studying too hard and just needs a good night’s sleep. Dan Oh is now hyper-aware that something in her world is really off. Her one true love, Baek Kyung, doesn’t seem to like her much either. Her life doesn’t seem like the life she’s supposed to have.
Secret
Dan Oh heads to the library to research her symptoms. Someone is already there, but she doesn’t notice. There is a boy by the window, but we can’t see his face. All we see is that he has a scar on his hand. Dan Oh wanders the aisles. She spies a glowing book on the shelf and pulls it down. When she opens it, she has a weird episode and sees the future. She slips and is caught by Baek Kyung, who is a total jerk to her. She drops the book and runs out.
Allusions to Boys Over Flowers
Full disclosure, well, most of our readers already know, but I HATED Boys Over Flowers. I didn’t even finish the drama. So when I kept seeing all the little similarities, I got kind of worried. Kmuse assured me that that wasn’t what the main storyline would be like, so I kept watching. If you are a BoF fan you will delight in the little similarities, but if you were like me and hated it, rest assured that isn’t the main storyline.
Dan Oh Tries to Change the Future
Dan Oh figures out that she can see the future and tries to change what is happening. When she can’t change what happens, she tries to figure it all out. She sees a weird black hole and notices that she’s not the only one who sees it! The cute chef from the cafeteria (Lee Tae Ri) notices it too. So she goes to find him. He has the book, but she still goes to the library to look for it. In the spot where the book was, she notices another black hole. She goes back to the kitchen and grabs the book.
Self Awareness/Ego
Jin Mi Chae aka Hottie Chef tries to explain it all as they review the story. The glitching is actually
Plot Twist!
She bakes a cake and waits for the three hottest guys in school to visit her so she can choose between them. Outside the room, we see a shadowy figure standing there watching. No one wants any of the cake she made. She goes to help Joo Da, who is being bullied again. Oh Nam Joo roars up on his motorcycle and she expects him to pick her, but her feet are frozen. Uh oh, something isn’t right here… She’s not the lead! The spotlights are on Joo Da and Nam Joo. She’s frozen to the spot as she realizes it’s never been
My Thoughts
I’m intrigued. I’m a huge fan of dramas based on mangas, so the idea that a character figures out that she’s in a comic book caught my interest. I like the main female lead a lot. She’s a typical unaware rich girl, but she’s not mean or stuck up. I’m curious to see where they will take this, especially since our girl isn’t the lead in the main story. All I know is I’m willing to use my small amount of drama time to watch this show, so I hope it stays fun and fresh.
Until the next glitch in the system,
Clkytta
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
This actually sounds really fun! I may have to give it a try! Thanks for the fun recap!
Let us know what you think!
I watched it last night and it’s adorable. I love the idea of the story-world being incomplete where it’s not described. The notion of the on-stage portions where there’s no control and the shadow portions where there is is really fun, and leaves open a lot of possibilities (we’ve already seen some) for poking loving fun at the genre. I love her eyerolls and sighs about the corny lines or the way that she seems to exist just to provide opportunities for the main characters to come together.
It’s also interesting realizing that her actions won’t affect others very much. Like, I was worried that the comic book’s male lead (CML) would blame her for trapping the CFL in the infirmary, but then I realized that has too many plot implications, so it’s unlikely to happen.
In fact, the whole set up of the world means that cause and effect are not normal, which makes for all kinds of unexpected story twists while ruling out all kinds of predictable tropes. This should be an interesting ride!